Start Date: August 11, 2023

Windwillow

Final Fantasy V: War of the Crystals

Chapter Eight: The Earth Crystal of Gohn

With the Adamantite acquired, Cid and Mid set about upgrading the Enterprise to ascend to the level of the Ronka Ruins, where the Earth Crystal supposedly dwelt. No one had seen the crystal for centuries, if not millennia, and it wasn't certain that it was even in the ruins in the first place. If it was, it needed to be protected. More importantly, if it had been augmented by machines like Cid's, there was still the threat that the crystal would be overloaded and shatter like the other three crystals. But what awaited them at the Ronka Ruins? Did an ancient civilization still reside there? Or, perhaps, the remnants of one had reposed there for generations, unseen by the eyes of the world at large? Either way, they had to reach the Earth Crystal, before whatever force that had shattered the other three crystals delivered the Earth Crystal a similar fate.

"Now, we can get you there... but there's no telling what's waiting there..." warned Cid. "Ancient lost technology could end up being marvelous or malevolent. If they existed, they had weapons; that's how humanity functions. Whenever we develop a new technology, we twist it into a weapon of war. I'd advise that you all keep a close eye on the ruins before you enter it," he said plainly. Bartz shrugged.

"How dangerous can it be?" asked Bartz laughingly. He stretched his legs and dusted off his pants, then turned to leave with the others. As he and the three other Warriors of Light departed, Mid tapped Cid on the shoulder with an exasperated expression on his face.

"Um... Shouldn't we have told them about the explosive wave cannon before they left?" wondered Mid.

After a bit of thought, Cid gave a grunt and shook his head in horror. "Oh, right... The lethal, all-powerful one? Oh, fudge..." moaned Cid.

Scene One

With the Adamantite, the Enterprise became able to steadily ascend the skies higher and higher until it reached the elevation of the floating Ronka Ruins. It was a magnificent construction, highly technologically advanced and made of a kind of alloy that likely couldn't be reproduced in the modern day. The closer they approached the more breathtaking the complex was, or at least it was before a large gate opened up in the center of the ruins. From that gate a titanic, long-barreled cannon emerged, locked on to the Enterprise, and fired a blast wave that nearly toppled it. Faris only narrowly managed to spin the wheel to avoid it, and angrily cursed Cid with a few words that can't be repeated.

"Does the Enterprise have any weapons?" asked Lenna nervously. Faris grit her teeth, shook her head, and punched the helm in frustration. They didn't have anything remotely powerful enough to tangle with the Soul Cannon. As everyone retreated into despair, Bartz slowly developed a plan. It was a desperate, risky, stupid plan, but it was all he could come up with.

"We can land on that thing and use everything we have to cut it open!" yelled Bartz. Incredulous, Faris shook her head and put her hand on her hip, uncertain of whether or not it was even viable. Bartz put a finger to his chin, thought a bit, and shrugged. "Not like I know how we'd do it..." he muttered, shortly before Faris took him by the collar and battered him about the head. "Hey, just making a suggestion!" Bartz protested.

"Maybe the Eidolons will have an idea?" posited Galuf. There really wasn't a better idea. He clapped his hands together and concentrated, causing Ifrit, Shiva, and Ramuh to manifest on the bridge of the ship. After taking in a deep breath, exhausted from summoning all three at once, Galuf dropped into his chair with a sigh. "Is there any way for us to destroy that thing and enter the ruins?" he asked haggardly.

"Nope. You're screwed," said Ifrit flatly. Shiva angrily whacked him over the head, causing a burst of steam to pop out from his nose when she hit him on the back of the head. He angrily shook his fist at Shiva, who remained undaunted. "What was that for?!" he croaked. Shiva lifted a finger to her mouth, thought for a bit, and smiled.

"Wind magic. Because this human can use it, we might have a shot. Strike the cannon in a single, tiny point using all the energy you can muster, severing it and leaving an opening for you folks to enter the complex with!" beamed Shiva.

"But will it work?" asked Ramuh incredulously. Shiva threw up her arms and shook her head.

"Hell if I know. But it's the only suggestion I can come up with," shrugged Shiva.

As the Warriors of Light reeled from both the suggestion and its probability of working, Bartz quietly lifted his sword and shut his eyes. All along the blade of the sword a thin line formed, a cutting vacuum. Tentatively he swung at a nearby cloud, which severed a large gash in it. Stunned, Bartz released his magic and ran his finger along the sword, and could feel the sharpness such that a small cut opened on his index finger. He licked the blood from the finger and applied pressure to close the wound.

"There really isn't any other option? Fine, whatever. Let's do this, guys..." Bartz muttered. He turned to Faris and smiled, a fragile smile that reflected his lack of faith in the plan. "Try and get us right above the barrel, and I'll give it a shot, okay?" he asked calmly.

Faris nodded and positioned the Enterprise high above the center of the Soul Cannon. Bartz held out his sword and gripped it in both hands, prompting his friends and the Eidolons to lay their hands on the blade and pulse all the energy they could through it. As the sword was charged, however, they heard a strange rumbling and looked below the airship to find that the Soul Cannon was slowly lifting itself up. The barrel lifted higher and higher, and it became clear that the cannon was going to aim itself at the Enterprise vertically and blast it to Kingdom Come.

"Oh, and if the cannon lifts all the way up it'll obliterate all of us. Did I forget to mention that?" muttered Shiva sheepishly.

"You should have told us that first, God damn it!" Bartz screeched angrily. With no other option he climbed aboard the front of the Enterprise and stared down at the Soul Cannon as it continued to rise, coming ever closer to killing them all. "This is the stupidest idea I've ever freaking heard of!" yelled Bartz, barely able to be heard over the din of the cannon rising.

"You came up with it!" snarled Faris. Bartz shook his head and shrugged. Her eye twitching, Faris furiously gave Bartz the finger and stuck out her tongue. "You stupid son of a... If we die, I'm going to haunt you for the next seven generations!" she spat.

Bartz swallowed his fear and stared down as the Soul Cannon's barrel continued to rise. He took in a deep breath and charged the sword with all the magic he could muster, which with the contribution of the others formed a large, three-foot-long air vacuum along the blade. Slowly he stepped onto the bow of the ship and stared down at the quickly-approaching Soul Cannon. After choking back a nasty word he lifted up his sword high above his head, high as he could go, and as the barrel continued to rise he swung down with all the force in his body.

By this point the Soul Cannon had positioned itself almost completely vertical to the Enterprise. Lights began to shine all across its barrel as the cannon started to charge, steadily gathering enough energy to obliterate everyone aboard the airship. The blade of wind that Bartz had lashed out with continued to accelerate, gathering force, until it finally expanded into a wave the size of the Soul Cannon itself. Just as the cannon prepared to fire, Bartz's attack connected and cut through the Soul Cannon's barrel with enough force to split it in half. As the two halves of the cannon began to topple so did Bartz, though Faris barely caught him at the last moment and dragged him back aboard.

Scene Two

The barrel of the mighty Soul Cannon had been severed, and its two halves split and plummeted to the ground below. This left a large indentation in the center of the Ronka Ruins, where a small platform formed with a console that presumably led into the complex. With a feeble whimper Bartz fell to his back and screamed loudly, then began to laugh. The laughter was wholly manic, as he'd finally snapped and lost control of his higher faculties, just happy to be alive. Once he'd calmed down, everyone gathered at the helm and activated a small camera that scanned the area below and confirmed that it was an elevator.

"Do we have any time to rest?" Bartz heaved. He'd been winded, wounded, and nearly knocked unconscious by his massive attack. Much to his displeasure, Ifrit shook his head and sighed. Bartz definitely did not appreciate the look on his face. Even if he already knew the answer, hearing it was just hard to stomach.

"Time's ticking, you fool. Chug all the potions and Ethers you have and pray for the best..."said Ifrit darkly, shortly before the Eidolons vanished.

Staggered, Bartz fell to his back and choked out an expletive. Slowly he reached into his pocket and rustled around for a bit before withdrawing an Ether. He turned his eyes to his companions, who did the same thing. With a weak groan they all chugged the Ethers and swallowed them, restoring as much magical power as they could. This was going to suck.

Faris docked the Enterprise with the ruins of the Soul Cannon, and lowered a ladder to reach the long-sought elevator. Everyone wearily gathered in the center of the platform and Faris threw the switch. The result was that they were slowly lowered into a room much like what the Catapult was made of: multiple cogs and gears, and walls etched with various ancient symbols. They stumbled into the complex, staggering all the way, and Faris weakly inched her hand towards her cutlass in preparation to draw it. She wasn't sure if she had the energy left.

"The gears aren't turning in the same directions... Has the machine gone haywire?" groaned Faris. Bartz shrugged and fell against a wall, rustled around in his pouch and withdrew a potion. As he put it to his lips, however, the wall he had been leaning against exploded and he was sent flying. He only barely recovered, chugged the potion, and drew his sword before spitting out a bunch of saliva to the side. "What the hell are those things?!" Faris screamed. There were two of them. Semi-organic and semi-robotic, the Ronkan Knights took on the appearance of hulking gladiators, armed with a large axe and an even larger shield.

"They look mechanic... maybe lightning magic...?" wondered Lenna.

After she took in a deep breath, Faris ran her fingers along her cutlass's blade. At first there was a crackle of electricity, and then a shimmering sheen of lightning formed along the weapon. With her new armament, Faris lashed out with her cutlass and slashed two gashes into the Ronkan Knight's body. Although the blade carved out two fairly large cavities in the Knight's body, it failed to disable it. When the two Ronkan Knights lifted their axes and swung down, Faris was forced to evade and jumped backwards. As Faris reeled Lenna turned to run, but was surprised by a sudden attacker.

Like its cousin the Ronkan Knight, the Ra Mage was both organic and artificial, magic made manifest in the form of a wizened sorcerer. Lenna frantically snatched up her dagger and slashed at the Ra Mage, but only managed to graze its mechanical frame. When the Ra Mage lifted its staff and charged a spell, Lenna desperately dropped her dagger and clapped both hands over the monster's torso. Tiny drops of water dripped from between her fingers, finally culminating in a wave of liquid that engulfed the Ra Mage and stilled its circuits. When the monster began to move again, Bartz took his sword and cut off its head, silently sharing a smile with Lenna before returning to the battle.

The Ronkan Knight that hadn't been attacked by Faris lashed out at Galuf. He quickly formed a blade of energy and managed to parry its axe, but when he cockily stuck out his tongue the monster bashed him in the face with its shield and knocked him back. Galuf reeled and staggered, but didn't fall and slashed at the monster once more. The blow finally managed to damage the Knight sufficiently enough for it to stop moving. He turned his attention to Faris, who still struggled against the Ronkan Knight's blows. Sharing a brief glance with Bartz, Galuf swung his blade in unison with his friend and disabled the monster for good.

Exhausted, the four Warriors of Light dropped to their seats and choked out a sigh of exasperation. That had taken a lot more energy than they had to spend. They withdrew another potion, chugged it, and cast away the empty bottles with a low groan. Galuf questioned what would come when they were attacked next, but Faris replied that if they moved fast enough they might outpace the monsters. Bartz was less than enthusiastic about their chances: they might just fall apart trying to run from the Knights much less having to fight them.

Through careful navigation, keen observation, and more than a little luck the party managed to maneuver around the remaining Knights and Mages. When they reached the final chamber Bartz wearily threw the door open and found King Tycoon on the other side staring at a huge monster. The beast was massive, three times the size of the warriors and resembling a serpentine dragon with sharpened wings and even sharper claws and fangs. Bartz let out a rather embarrassing shriek, his fingers moving to his sword. He was shocked when Lenna grabbed hold of his hands and held him down, and though he struggled Bartz was unable to wrench himself free.

"Let go! Stop being an idiot and let go!" Bartz snarled. Lenna refused to relent, until finally Bartz was able to shove her away and lift his sword again, this time at King Tycoon. Before he could move at the dragoon Lenna threw her entire body in front of Bartz, stopping his sword cold. "You... stupid... fool!" hacked Bartz.

"You four! Deal with this beast!" ordered King Tycoon.

"Oh, screw you! You take care of it, you stupid-" To Bartz's shock Faris darted past him with her cutlass drawn and threw out a mighty swing, which slashed open a small hole in the Archeoavis' torso. Lenna followed up by placing her hands onto the wound, grit her teeth, and pulsed enough water into the wound that it swelled and began to bleed. "This is a bad idea, you two!" snarled Bartz. They seemed to be leaping head long into the fangs of death, but they didn't hesitate. He turned a dark glare to the king, but the royal said nothing. And did nothing, much to Bartz's fury.

When the Archeoavis lashed out at Lenna, Bartz threw out his left hand. The mighty wall of wind impacted the monster's claw, preventing it from striking Lenna. Even though it was parried, however, the Archeoavis quickly turned its attention to Bartz. Before it could Bartz, Faris, and Galuf positioned themselves in a triangular position and attacked all at once, three blows disabling the beast and finally killing it. As it fell to the ground Lenna hurried to reach out at her father, but was thrown against the wall by the monster's tail. To everyone's shock and horror the Archeoavis' body began an unholy transformation, as its flesh dripped from its bones and a sickening stench filled the air. The Archeoavis turned to Lenna, and flames licked its fangs as it prepared to attack. Suddenly the Archeoavis froze in midair, seemingly suspended by suspended animation. Faris' Time Magic had literally frozen it in place.

"Someone kill it before it kills us! I can't do this much longer!" Faris screeched. As she reached her limit, Bartz took his sword in both hands and swung, slashing the Archeoavis in half. The two halves dropped inert to the floor and Faris dropped to one knee, desperately grasping her damaged left arm. "Damnation! I can't fight any more!" croaked Faris. When Galuf reached out to help her rise, she brusquely brushed him aside, snatched up her weapon, and followed Lenna as she hurried after King Tycoon. As they moved Lenna clapped both hands to Faris' arm and pulsed energy through it to heal the injury.

"You stupid fools!" Galuf choked, shortly before he and Bartz charged after them.

What awaited through the door was, as expected, the Earth Crystal. To their horror, however, King Tycoon stood before it with his lance raised, ready to strike. Bartz deftly drew his sword and charged, but both Lenna and Faris intercepted him and grappled him with both of their strength and kept him from moving forward. King Tycoon took his opportunity and thrust the weapon into the crystal, and ripped open a wide scar in the priceless artifact. Although Lenna breathed a sigh of relief, she was halted when Bartz grabbed hold of her shoulder, reared back, and slapped her, hard.

"Get a damned grip!" Bartz roared, finally returning Lenna to conscious awareness. As the realization struck of what she'd just done, Lenna desperately reached out to Bartz but was brushed aside when he lunged at King Tycoon with his sword outstretched. "That isn't your father, idiot! He's being controlled!" screamed Bartz. As the king smilingly shouldered his lance Bartz lashed out at him, but was repelled by a wave of pressure and was blasted back into the wall. He struggled in vain to right himself, and only barely managed to keep a hold of his weapon.

"Bartz!" shrieked Lenna, reaching out to him desperately, but it was too late. King Tycoon, shrouded in a black aura, held out his left arm and began to tremble. His muscles flexed, his arm quaked, and with a single lash of his arm a thick line of lightning blasted Bartz and his friends to the floor, prone. Lenna struggled, fighting with all the strength she had, but when she looked into the king's eyes she realized that she'd been fooled; her father wasn't the person staring back at her. "How dare you hurt my friends?!" she choked. "Who the devil are you?!"

"With all four of you gathered together, it won't take much effort to kill the lot of you!" boasted the being controlling King Tycoon.

While Lenna watched in horror the controlled king formed a mass of black lightning in his free hand. The electricity slowly began to intensify in its energy output, until finally it broke out into what looked like a full-on lightning storm. Wounded and prone as they were, it would likely obliterate them. Tears forming in her eyes, Lenna desperately reached towards her father. Surely he had some recognition of her?

"Father, I'm begging you! Please, stop!" Lenna shrieked, desperation tinging her screams.

Before the king's attack was launched the whole of the crystalline chamber shook. The eastern wall began to quake, and a large chunk of meteorite burst through it. From the core of the meteorite a door opened and a figure emerged, lightning licking her fingertips. With a single mighty scream she hurled the lightning at King Tycoon and blasted him back into the far wall. As the rubble cleared, the youth came clearer into view. The sassy young lass was well-dressed in a red leotard tied with a blue sash, long finger-less gloves and a snazzy pair of boots that matched her leotard. She had an air of childish mischief about her, a cocky grin worn on her face.

"Grandpa! Are you alright?!" called out the youth. She ran towards Galuf and threw herself into his arms, and cradled him tightly in her embrace. The youth struggled against the old man's grip, seemingly begging for him to return her embrace. "Grandpa! Get a grip, dummy!" she screeched, taking the flat of her hand and lashing it against Galuf's cheek. Galuf's eyes widened as his entire body began to shake. Slowly, he took his arms and threw them around the girl, and embraced her even tighter than she had done to him.

"Thank God... Krile..." Galuf croaked. He took his granddaughter's head in both hands and laid it to his chest with a breathless sigh of relief. "Can you forgive a stupid old man's foolishness, girl?" he breathed, deeply embracing her. Krile's only response was to giggle and return his embrace. Galuf lifted both himself and Krile out of his crater, and set her down on the floor. "What did you do to that guy?" asked Galuf breathlessly.

"Simple Thunder spell! He's stunned, but he'll be alright!" tittered Krile.

Across the room, King Tycoon unsteadily wobbled to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. When he turned to the Earth Crystal his eyes went wide and he choked out a foul word. He saw, to his horror, that the crystal itself finally and utterly broke apart. Each shard struck the floor and kicked up a tiny bit of dust, until finally the entire crystal outright shattered. In the blinding light a black hole, devoid of life, slowly cracked the air and revealed its occupant, the unholiest being that any of them had ever seen.

Well, he certainly looked evil. Wearing a heavy, sky-blue colored suit of armor that covered his entire torso, Exdeath's mighty body was apparent even if you couldn't see the sturdy musculature beneath the armor. The armor was ornate, coated with beads, jewels, and gold linings that culminated in a large, visored helmet that did not show Exdeath's face. At his side was a long, curved sword that resembled a rather vicious rapier. Exdeath turned his attention to the Warriors of Light, then silently snapped his fingers. The result was that the shards of the Earth Crystal lifted up and surrounded the four warriors (and Krile), and rotated around them to form a crackling barrier of light that kept them from moving.

"Ha ha... So good to breathe fresh air again! It's wonderful to see you, Galuf. It's quite pleasing to announce your world's death sentence right in front of your face!" Exdeath cackled, shortly before he disappeared into another black hole.

While the crystal shards continued to rotate around the Warriors of Light, King Tycoon unsteadily snatched up his lance and staggered to his feet. He reared back and jabbed at the crystal barrier, but was thrown back in a massive burst of wind and knocked prone to the ground. Slowly he rose, both desperation and determination in his eyes. Although Lenna and Faris stared in mute horror, the king quietly lifted his hand and his fingers closed digit by digit. This was his end, but it wasn't the end.

"The battle is over... but the war isn't lost! Crystal shards! Claim me, and not them!" exclaimed the king.

The crystal shards sealing the Warriors of Light trembled slightly then zoomed to surround King Tycoon. The crystalline fragments rotated around him and, one by one, slashed at him with their sharpened blades. Finally, using all his strength, the king threw out all four limbs and the shards shattered to bits. One of the shards, however, grazed Galuf's right arm and caused his bracer to glow before turning into a solid gold gauntlet. The king fell to his knees, breathing desperately and gasping for air, finally dropping to his face with an unceremonious grunt.

"Father, no!" shrieked Lenna. She lunged towards her father and took him into her embrace, tightly taking him into her arms and her tears began to intensify. "Don't leave me, please!" she screeched. The king quietly forced himself back to life and stared at Lenna with a vacant expression on his face. Slowly a smile formed, and he weakly embraced his daughter. As Lenna continued to sob and Faris broke down as well, the king turned his attention to Bartz.

As his life began to drain away, King Tycoon stared into Bartz's eyes with a desperation that only a father could show. He was his final hope. "Protect them both, Bartz... always..." King Tycoon choked.

A few more moans and a final gasp signaled the end of his life, and he fell limply into his daughter's embrace. Lenna screamed out an unholy shriek of grief and embraced her father tightly, though he of course was unable to respond. As the chamber began to quake, she remained by her father's side, gripping his corpse with all the grief in her body. Suddenly she felt a sharp hand grip her wrist, wrenching her to her feet.

"We need to get to the Enterprise! Now!" Bartz insisted desperately. He steadily began to drag her away from her father's body, though she fought him tooth and nail. The more she struggled, the more time they wasted, and perhaps they'd end up with none at all, and Bartz grit his teeth in frustration at her ignorance. When Lenna felt another hand on her shoulder and turned to see Faris, however, she slowly relented and began to move. "Hurry!" screamed Bartz.

Scene Three

The four Warriors of Light (and Krile) managed to return to the Enterprise just in time to escape the destruction of the Ronka Ruins. The massive, futuristic fortress continued to explode and fell to the earth far below, leaving only five men and women to contemplate what had just happened and the implications it held for their entire world. As the Enterprise broke away and turned back towards the Catapult, Lenna silently stood at the edge of the ship and shook. Faris took her by the shoulders and shook her, shortly before they both fell crying into each other's arms. Galuf took Bartz by the arm and turned him around to face him, and Bartz was able to see the pain in his friend's eyes. He clearly knew more than he'd been saying about the creature aboard the Ronka Ruins.

"I remember it all now..." began Galuf, slowly grabbing Bartz by the shoulders and pushing him away. Taking in a deep breath, he shook his head side to side to gather his thoughts. "That was Exdeath... the warlock I said I sealed here thirty years back. Even if my world I could feel the seal beginning to break, so I hurried here in the meteorite. Still, the sudden impact destroyed my weapons and armor..." he sighed. Bartz grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"The impact broke everything and destroyed your memory, right?" asked Bartz calmly. When Galuf nodded, Bartz groaned and dropped down into his seat. "God... What just happened?!" he heaved. He placed his face in his hands, overwhelmed by the magnitude of everything that had just happened; the fall of the ruins, the destruction of the Earth Crystal, and the pain of seeing Lenna cry so intensely. "Was it because of us? Because we abused the crystals? What was it all for...?" Bartz hacked. Galuf grappled his frantic friend by the shoulder and shook him back to sanity.

"It was never your problem in the first place. He was right when he said he'd stay behind..." muttered Galuf. Bartz quietly took notice of his words, and slowly began to piece together a theory. Was his father truly from another world, or was everything one big coincidence? Krile silently approached him and Galuf folded his hands behind his head, seemingly as a pillow. "Does the meteorite have enough juice to bring us home?" he asked.

Krile quietly nodded. "There's enough power for one trip," said Krile. She averted her eyes, unwilling to continue but forced to do so. "If they come with us, that'll be it..." she murmured. Galuf silently nodded and clapped a hand to his granddaughter's shoulder, but when he turned to leave Bartz grabbed him by the collar and dragged him towards his face. Galuf knew what his friend was about to say, but knew that it was totally out of the question.

"We're going! Now, right?!" exclaimed Bartz. Galuf took Bartz by the shoulders, shoved him away, and shook his head. This was too much. Bartz's body began to tremble, then quake, and finally he grabbed Galuf by the collar and smacked him. "Don't you dare tell me we aren't coming with you!" he snarled. Galuf angrily slammed his fist into his friend's gut and, when he recoiled, the old man shoved him down to the ground.

Staring down at Bartz, Galuf's face showed a sort of stupid determination that his friend distinctly despised seeing. "This isn't your fight anymore. It's ours. I caused the problem and I'll solve it," growled Galuf. He dusted off his pants and stretched his leg, and the look in his eye nearly caused Bartz to convulse. "If you come with us, you'd never come back. Meaning, you aren't coming with us. Deal with it!" he shouted.

Lenna desperately reached towards Galuf, but Faris held her back and cradled her crying sister in her arms. Bartz, disgusted, silently staggered to his feet and slugged Galuf one final time before dropping into his seat. It was over... wasn't it? "Do whatever you want, you damned old fool!" Bartz barked.

Author's Notes

I couldn't think of a reasonable way for the party to fight off several rocket launchers and then battle a cannon at point blank range, hence the way I BS'd my way through it here.